Inaugural class matriculates; Learning-Discussion curriculum begins

On August 9, 1993, the first students of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine began their journey in becoming Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine via the Learning-Discussion Pathway.

LECOM Opens Medical Research Facility and holds first White Coat ceremony

Additionally, a tradition began in 1996 when the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine held its first ever white coat ceremony, which heralds the students’ transition from the classroom to clinical education.
Also in 1996, LECOM opened the Italo Cappabianca Medical Research Center. Research is a key part of the LECOM mission to prepare well-qualified healthcare professionals. To meet the educational goals of research, the college provides laboratory space and encourages research by faculty members and students.

President and CEO John M. Ferretti, D.O., named Educator of Year by AOA

Four years after becoming president of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. John M. Ferretti was named the Educator of the Year by the American Osteopathic Association.

LECOM School of Pharmacy receives approval from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth approved the addition of the LECOM School of Pharmacy. LECOM became one of the few schools to offer a three-year pharmacy degree program. Also, in the same year, LECOM’s Independent Study Pathway matriculated its first students.

Classes begin for the LECOM School of Pharmacy and LECOM celebrates its 10th Anniversary

True to the College mission to provide primary health care to Northwestern Pennsylvania, LECOM achieved another milestone with the addition of its School of Pharmacy. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the LECOM School of Pharmacy in May 2001. Classes began in September 2002 – in congruence with the College’s 10th anniversary – and LECOM held its first pharmacy school graduation in June 2005. LECOM had firmly cemented itself as a national leader in medical education.

School of Pharmacy graduates its first class of 76 Doctors of Pharmacy; LECOM institutes Masters of Science in Medical Education Program

LECOM’s first 76 graduates from the School of Pharmacy received their Doctor of Pharmacy degrees in June 2005. With the conferring of the diplomas, The LECOM School of Pharmacy received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education in the same year, LECOM began its Masters of Science in Medical Education program. This postgraduate course became the first distance education program at LECOM and it trains physicians to become teachers and leaders in the clinical education of future physicians. The College also offers the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Degree and the Health Sciences Post Baccalaureate Certificate.

LECOM opens School of Pharmacy in Bradenton, Florida – LECOM celebrates its 15th Anniversary

LECOM identified a growing need for new pharmacists in Florida, the southeastern United States, and across the country. Florida, at the time, was one of nine states leading the nation in demand for new pharmacists. Four of those states are also in the southeast. So, LECOM extended its School of Pharmacy to the Bradenton Campus and the first class of 85 students began their instruction in August 2007.

LECOM opens the John M. And Silvia Ferretti Medical Fitness and Wellness Center

The vision of LECOM continued in 2009 with the extension of LECOM Erie to the campus of the private liberal arts institution of Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. LECOM at Seton Hill added an additional 104 medical students to the first-year class and brought its total to more than 400 students in enrollment.

LECOM announces plans for School of Dental Medicine at Bradenton campus

LECOM presented plans for the LECOM School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, FL, during a news conference at the campus in Lakewood Ranch. For more than a year, LECOM administrators and the Board of Trustees investigated the need to open a dental school in Florida and determined that the College could meet the educational and health care needs of the state’s citizens. Reports from the Surgeon General of the United States showed that while the understanding of tooth decay and periodontal diseases brought about marked improvement in the oral health of many Americans, not all Americans benefited by the same degree.

LECOM graduates first pharmacy class from Bradenton campus

The Bradenton campus graduated its first class of new pharmacists in June 2011. The College awarded professional degrees to 77 pharmacy students.

LECOM opens Coffee Culture Cafe and Eatery

Erie residents and visitors received another choice for gourmet coffee, baked goods, soups, sandwiches and salads. Located at 5761 Peach Street, LECOM purchased the Coffee Culture franchise and invested $700,000 in renovations, landscaping and equipment.

LECOM at Seton Hill graduates its inaugural medical class.

LECOM at Seton Hill graduates its inaugural medical class.

LECOM takes on Safe Kids Erie

In keeping with its unremitting mission of service and its unflagging goal to promote improved health for all, LECOM became the lead agency for the Safe Kids Erie Program, which previously had been administered by the Erie County Department of Health. Safe Kids Erie strives to educate families and to raise awareness of the fact that the vast majority of injuries to children can and should be prevented. LECOM leadership of the Program created additional opportunities for students at the College to serve the community

Millcreek Health System becomes LECOM Health

For decades Millcreek Health System reinforced a powerful and purposed health care mission. LECOM had been solidly at the epicenter of that mission, championing the vision of healthful living and advancing the educational and medical core of a growing and ever-expanding network of medical exceptionalism. The Millcreek Health System had been the seminal delivery system for health care in the western Pennsylvania region and LECOM had been its educational stalwart. The College had taken to heart the concept that the community is our campus. To promote fitness and wellness for the betterment of our community, LECOM opened the John M. and Silvia Ferretti Medical Fitness and Wellness Center. To answer the need for better oral health care, the College opened the LECOM Dental Offices. With Erie County’s senior population now approaching one-out-of-four residents, LECOM added another component to its health care programs for older adults with the acquisition of three residential communities, the adoption of LifeWorks Erie and construction of the Senior Living Center.nu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enLECOM Health has coordintated with the full complement of our academic health system – with hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, health plans, governments and employers – to improve the countless lives that we touch.

LECOM Health acquires Corry Memorial Hosptial, Visiting Nurses Association of Erie County and Presque Isle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

The addition of Corry Memorial Hospital to LECOM Health became a benefit to the Corry community, as the hospital provided access to LECOM health physicians and medical services. With the addition of CMH to LECOM Health, the system now reaches into eastern Erie County, as well as parts of Warren and Crawford counties, which are served by CMH.

LECOM Health also acquired the 106-year-old Visiting Nurses Association of Erie County (VNA) along with a second skilled-nursing facility, now known as LECOM Nursing & Rehabilitation. Both organizations play an important role in the continuum of care that has been a growing part of the superlative health care provided by the only osteopathic academic health center in America. The VNA is renowned for its home health care services, but the organization also plays a significant part in hospice care and veterans care. Another experienced health care constant, LECOM Nursing & Rehabilitation, is the only skilled-nursing center in Erie that provides ventilator services.

Masters of Science in Biomedical Ethics Degree Program Launched

LECOM launches Masters of Science in Biomedical Ethics degree program and creates the LECOM School of Health Services Administration.

The LECOM Institute for Behavioral Health Opens

The LECOM Institute for Behavioral Health opens, providing outpatient psychiatric care and medication management.

LECOM Elmira Opens

LECOM at Elmira opens and welcomes its inaugural class of medical students.

LECOM acquires the former Porreco Center

LECOM acquires the former Porreco Center of Edinboro University, a 28-acre campus, and renames it the LECOM Education Center.

LECOM Health acquires Independence Court

LECOM Health acquires Independence Court, a personal care senior living facility, and renames it Parkside at Glenwood